Daliso’s celebration
of bitterness...

Tiff Stevenson opens up another week of goodies at The Stables this evening, with her Mad Man show, which is in the early dates of its UK tour.

Tiff is a stand-up comedian, actor and writer, and she’s got this provoking, entertaining thing down to a pretty fine art – Mad Man is her sixth solo show she has taken to Edinburgh’s Fringe Fest.

In this performance, she asks ‘What makes a person? Ideas, labels, sexuality or even slogan T-shirts?’

When the cult of personality reigns supreme and the only religion is a technological one, she asks if we are being sold our identities.

It’ll prove as provocative as it is entertaining.

Humour runs through tomorrow’s main stage set too, with Lee Hurst holding court.

Quick wit, sharp observation and an easy manner make an intoxicating combination for a fiend of the funnies.

This tour is called Comedy Show No.9. No prizes for guessing why.

Funny stories, quality gags and side-splitting (could be messy) observations will be rife.

It’s a gimmick-free performance, just one man and his microphone.

And any of you fancy heckling our boy, be warned: “They’re normally drunk and if they’re too lippy they end up driving with me to Epping Forest,” Lee told me.

“It’s a drag with all the traffic, but at least you have someone to talk to on the way there. Coming back on my own can be quite lonely...”

The Changing Room will be in control over on Stage 2 with a rootsy blend of Celtic-infused, original folk.

‘Rousing choruses and catchy hooks that’ll keep you swaying and humming all week,’ they say.

On Saturday night, The Mods Band deliver all those classic hits you know and love – think The Small Faces, The Kinks and The Doors, then throw in hooks from Spencer Davis and Desmond Dekker.

It’ll be that sort of a night...

Chris Wood will see you on Sunday night .

His writing is said to share the same ‘timeless quality as Richard Thompson at his best,’ which is beyond promising.

Uncompromising and with a gentle intelligence, Wood is working on new songs for his fifth long-player, which will be released this year.

There’s every chance some of that newbie material will slip into this performance.

The Dublin Legends arrive on Tuesday. Sean Cannon and Eamonn Campbell were members of Irish folk heroes The Dubliners for nigh on three decades, while Gerry O’Connor is familiar as a member of Four Men & A Dog.

He has worked with everyone from Sharon Shannon to the man with the new gnashers, Shane McGowan, and is fresh back from touring with guitar ace Joe Bonamassa.

Paul Watchorn is no weak link himself – he’s one of the best five-string banjo players around and spent many a year touring with Derek Warfield’s Sons of Erin.

In 2012 The Dubliners celebrated their half century of music making with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, then tragedy struck with the death of founder member ‘Banjo’ Barney McKenna.

Remaining members sat down and worked out their future, deciding that The Dubliners, as a touring entity, were done.

But their legacy continues with this outing which still gives fans their fill of classic songs and ballads, from Molly Malone to Finnegan’s Wake and The Wild Rover.

The Marco Marconi Trio received terrific reviews for their current album Nordik, and the jazz aces will wow you too, when they go live over on Stage 2.

The interplay here is exceptional.

On Wednesday the Doric String Quartet bring classical to the fore with material from Haydn and Bartok.

Expect a fascinating and exuberant collection to tickle your ears in a right and proper way.

On Stage 2 Daliso Chaponda will tell you that Love Sucks; ‘The fairy tales lied to you. ‘There is no happily ever after. Prince Charming is a sex offender.

During the last year, two of Daliso’s ex-girlfriends got married, and taunted by their white dresses on Facebook, he had to consider age old questions like ‘Will I die alone?’ and ‘Should I consider a mail order bride?’. This show is the result of his bitterness.

Love Sucks begins at 8.45pm,

If any of that lot takes your fancy, call up on 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

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